A rubber products supplier placed 500 workers on a formal unpaid leave program in the second half of last month, boosting the total number of furloughed workers in the nation to 7,736 as of the end of the month, up 448 from the first half, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The company, which recently put about 200 employees on furlough, placed an additional 500 employees on its unpaid leave program in the second half of last month as orders fell, Labor Conditions and Equal Employment Division section chief Wu Lieh-yen (吳烈炎) said.
Some manufacturers ended their furlough programs in the second half of last month, including bicycle and component makers, returning more than 200 workers to production lines, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
However, the export-oriented manufacturing sector in general is still feeling the pinch from weak global demand, with the number of furloughed workers rising from 6,687 on March 15 to 7,117 on Sunday, he said.
Meanwhile, the service sector, including retailers and wholesale businesses, continued to report relatively stable employment amid solid domestic consumption in the post-COVID-19 era, the ministry said.
The number of furloughed workers in the two industries increased to 511 on Sunday from 493 on March 15, it said.
The number of furloughed workers in the lodging and food and beverage industry stood at six as of Sunday, up from four on March 15, while that in the support service industry, which is composed of travel agencies, fell from 38 to 37, it said.
Judging from the job market in the first quarter of this year, employment showed signs of stabilizing from the end of last year, when the number of furloughed workers stood at 9,764, the ministry said.
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